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2011 WS Preview: St. Louis Cardinals

Posted by on 18 October 2011, 8:33 am
Tony La Russa

Image via Wikipedia

The 2011 World Series kicks off on Wednesday night, with the St. Louis Cardinals hosting the Texas Rangers to start this best of seven series.

Which team has the advantage?

I have watched both teams throughout this postseason and they match up well. So instead of going stat crazy, below are my cut and dry observations of the St. Louis Cardinals.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS:

The Good:

There is no denying that something special is going on in St. Louis. Remember the Cardinals were not supposed to be here. Actually the Cardinals were not supposed to make the post season, beat the Phillies or the Brewers either but this team continually defies the odds. Regardless that the Cardinals have the best player on earth, Albert Pujols, it is a total team effort in St. Louis and this team is hot. And when a team continually believes in themselves when no one else does, that is a team that will be hard to beat.

Also, the over-managing by skipper Tony La Russa has worked on all cylinders this post season. The sometimes-irritating La Russa is now baseball’s Einstein. The mixing and matching of his bullpen, after not one St. Louis starter in the ALCS pitched five innings, was beyond impressive. Not to mention his unconventional genius of carrying eight relievers just to make sure St. Louis didn’t get blown out by the bats of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. La Russa has been this team’s MVP this post season.

The Bad:

Thus far, the Cardinals starting pitching has gotten away with doing the bare minimum this post season because the bullpen has saved their behinds, and quite well. Still, the bullpen cannot be the Cardinals crutch, which means the starters have to contribute at least five innings because the relievers could easily run out of steam. This could be the difference maker as the Rangers hard-hitting bats can easily knock out any starter. Also, the Cardinals had a regular season record of 65-42 when a starting pitcher threw six or more innings. Continue reading ‘2011 WS Preview: St. Louis Cardinals’ »

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2011 MLB Team Preview: Milwaukee Brewers

Posted by on 18 March 2011, 10:34 am

Whether things are good or bad in Milwaukee, the Brewers have a devout and loyal fanbase that shows-up.

Heading into 2011, the Brewers look the best they have in years but the fans are used to getting excited but know that their team is famous for being the kings of almost.

Could 2011 be the year of the Brew Crew?

Maybe, let’s take a look at the Brewers heading into the season:

The Positives:

The Brewers had a great off-season, fixing up an ineffective pitching staff to match their potent offense by adding two ace arms in Zach Greinke and Shaun Marcum.

The Brewers 1-4 starters are good enough to rival the Phillies for best in the NL.

Offensively remaining one of the most feared line-ups in the games with Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Corey Hart and Rickie Weeks. Weeks and Fielder can hit the open market at the end of 2011, so regardless if they stay or go their numbers will determine their paycheck, so expect big years from both. Ryan and Braun need to get on base a lot because these to can steal 20+ bases in 2011.

Look for an MVP season form Braun, who is in my top five list of possible players to win the award in 2011. Braun will be hitting clean up in a potent line-up and with the team being in the hunt for October and the above factors my bet is the team will produce, which Braun will benefit from.

New manager Ron Roenicke was a coach with the Angels for the last 10 seasons. The Brewers are hoping he follows in his old ex-Angel colleagues’, Joe Maddon and Bud Black’s footsteps. Roenicke will surely bring the Angels base-stealing mentality as that is inevitable after being under Mike Scioscia for so long. Hey it does work and the Brewers have the players to be a threat, so let’s see if he can bring some energy back to the Brew Crew.

The Negatives:

The pressure is on in Milwaukee, as all the off-season moves have depleted the team’s farm system.

Add that to Fielder and Weeks both in contract season’s makes 2011 a do or die situation in Milwaukee.

The improvements could be short lived if the team misses the playoffs. This is no secret and inevitably will weigh on the players shoulders and Milwaukee’s loyal fanbase will make sure they don’t forget it.

Neither will new skipper Roenicke, as he has made it clear that he has one set of rules for every player and that the team is always playing as a contender, with the World Series in mind.

As positive as Roenicke has been as the Brewers are showing some life again in Spring Training…could he be to overwhelming for a group who is used to never living up to expectations?

It is too early to tell, but it is the last six weeks that Roenicke’s effectiveness will be judged.

Players To Watch:

2B Rickie Weeks is what makes this Brewers offense so deadly. Weeks is in his prime at age 27 and just watching him play is enough to realize that he is a superstar. Problem is Weeks cannot stay healthy long enough to transform into a household name, but he did manage to start to display consistency in 2010. Last season, Weeks’ bat posted 29 home-runs, 32 doubles, 83 RBIs, 175 hits and four triples. He needs to lower his strikeout numbers, as Weeks he had 184 in 2010. The Brewers rewarded Weeks with a four-year, $38.5 million dollar contract with a fifth year option in this off-season, so he is being paid like a star. Continue reading ‘2011 MLB Team Preview: Milwaukee Brewers’ »

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Jeter, Teixeira And More Hardware For the Duo

Posted by on 14 November 2009, 4:05 am

AMERICAN LEAGUE:

C: Joe Mauer, Twins
1B: Mark Teixeira, Yankees
2B: Aaron Hill, Blue Jays
3B: Evan Longoria, Rays
SS: Derek Jeter, Yankees
OF: Jason Bay, Red Sox
OF: Torii Hunter, Angels
OF: Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners
DH: Adam Lind, Blue Jays

NATIONAL LEAGUE:

C: Brian McCann, Braves
1B: Albert Pujols, Cardinals
2B: Chase Utley, Phillies
3B: Ryan Zimmerman, Nats
SS: Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
OF: Ryan Braun, Brewers
OF: Andre Ethier, Dodgers
OF: Matt Kemp, Dodgers
P: Carlos Zambrano, Cubs

Once again, my sincerest CONGRADULATIONS to Mark Teixeria and Derek Jeter for winning Silver Sluggers.

The Jeter Family will have to build a house just for Derek’s awards. Now the one the means the most to our Captain (because only one he seems to not have won, other then a Cy Young) the MVP Award will be announced on November 23rd. Jeter is well in contention for this honor and I think he deserves it for so much more then just his stats alone.

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What It’s Like To Be A Baseball Fan During The “Steroid Era”

Posted by on 31 July 2009, 6:30 am

Dear Mr. Selig,

I will get right to the point as this needs to be addressed immediately. What is going to be done about the “Steroid Era“?

The whole thing is turning into a soap opera and it sure didn’t have too. Here are some points that are very on:

  1. The survey conducted by Major League Baseball in 2003 was to see how widespread the use of performing enhancing drugs was in the game. All the players who agreed to the partake in the surveys testing were under the assumption that the results were going to completely anonymous. In addition the tests were supposed to be used to aid in making the use of these substances illegal. No fan disagrees that rules about the use of performance enhancing drugs needed to be implemented in baseball and that it should be completely against the sport. Fans want to know why the need to lie too players? Only to have their names released or leaked to the media years late just seems completely unfair. Fans idolize these athletes and dreams are being broken all over the world; so realize whats at stake please. Continue reading ‘What It’s Like To Be A Baseball Fan During The “Steroid Era”’ »

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